About

The Union of Safety and Justice Employees (USJE) unites public service workers across Canada's federal justice system.

While the Government of Canada is the common employer, our more than 15,000 members work for various Departments and Agencies under the jurisdiction of the Minster of Public Safety Canada, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Canada. These include:

Administrative Tribunals
Support Service of Canada

Canadian Human Rights Commission

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal

Canadian Security Intelligence Service

Civilian Review and
Complaints Commission for the RCMP

Commissioner of Canada Elections

Correctional Service Canada

Courts Administration Service

Department of Justice Canada

Parole Board of Canada

Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs

Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Public Prosecutions Service Canada

Public Safety Canada

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Supreme Court of Canada

Royal Canadian Mounted Police External Review Committee

The USJE provides a vehicle for our members to address shared issues, problems and working conditions from a position of solidarity and strength. United in one union, USJE members have the advantage of superior service and resources, without sacrificing their occupational identity. There are no second class members within the USJE. All are respected. All are valued.

USJE members are grouped together in approximately 140 Locals and Sections across Canada, based on such shared characteristics as employer and geography.

The greatest number of USJE members work as CSC employees within federal minimum-, medium- and maximum-security penitentiaries and in parole offices across Canada. RCMP public service employees are the next largest USJE membership grouping.

Our members also belong to a wide variety of federal public service classification groups, namely:

Administrative Services (AS)

Clerical and Regulatory (CR)

Data Processing (DA)

Drafting and Illustration (DD)

Education (ED)

Engineering and Scientific (EG)

General Labour and Trades (GLT)

General Services (GS)

General Technical (GT)

Heating, Power and Stationary (HP)

Hospital Services (HS)

Information Services (IS)

Library Science (LS)

Office Equipment (OE)

Printing Operations (PR)

Program Administration (PM)

Secretarial, Steno, Typing (ST)

Technical Inspection (TI)

Welfare Programs (WP)

As federal public service classifications are generally common across all Departments, the USJE is also a Component Union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The PSAC is the umbrella bargaining agent for USJE members and most other federal government workers.

Together, the USJE and PSAC are able to provide a much higher level of service, technical expertise and financial support than if our membership was divided into smaller unions or bargaining agents. This point has long been recognized. Organizations similar to the USJE were in place to unite justice system employees decades before federal government workers first gained the right to a “real union" and free collective bargaining in the mid-1960s.

In fact, the USJE was created by the coming together of two employee associations that saw the benefits of joining a larger union. In November 1966, the Department of Justice Employees' Association of Canada and the Civil Service Association of Canada merged into one strong, united union – USJE!